


One Last Dance

by RogueWolf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Dancing, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, not quite a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 15:56:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5749201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueWolf/pseuds/RogueWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seventy years was a long time to wait for a dance, but Peggy Carter was nothing if not patient. So even though her bones ached and her eyes watered and she couldn’t remember most, if not all, of the steps, she still says “Yes” when Steve asks her to dance with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Last Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Silvanuyx for betaing this :) 
> 
> I might have cried while writing this...but then I felt better when it was finished. It's one of those stories.  
> See the end of the chapter for notes on the music Steve and Peggy dance to.

Steve’s been coming to visit her for almost three months now, and they reminisce about the good ol’ days and how Steve used to be smaller. Peggy tells him stories of the times her grandchildren would get in trouble and Steve laughs, remembering a scrawny little kid who seemed to constantly live in a state of “being in trouble.” And if there are times when Peggy stops talking and stares at Steve as though he’s a ghost, well...Steve’s more than willing to pick up the storytelling. 

He’s late one day and Peggy starts to worry. Her memory isn’t the best anymore, but she’s pretty certain that Steve hasn’t been by to visit her this week. 

She’s just about to ring for her nurse when Steve opens the door, a tablet clutched in one hand. He smiles at Peggy and bends to kiss her on the cheek.

“How are you doing today?” he asks her. 

“The same as last time,” she tells him. She can’t see what he’s doing, but she can hear him tapping gently on the tablet screen. He’s frowning and now Peggy’s curious, except that Steve’s face lights up suddenly and then music begins playing.  _ ‘Glenn Miller,’ _ Peggy thinks hazily. The opening chords send her back decades, back to when her hair was dark and she had spent all her time trying to save the world.

“Peggy Carter,” Steve says solemnly, “I know I’m late, but may I have this dance?”

“Oh,” she whispers, her eyes misting, “Steve...yes.” She reaches out and Steve takes her hand gently. She swings her feet out of the bed to rest against the floor and freezes. Peggy knows this music, she used to dance to it hundreds of time, but now...her mind is blank, a roaring, empty place where that knowledge used to be.

“Steve,” she says again, and she can’t stop the tears that fall down her face. “I can’t-”

Steve is suddenly kneeling in front of her. “Ssh,” he says softly. “I’ve got you.” He wipes the tears from her face and pulls her carefully into his arms.

They sway around the room, one song fading into another, and if Peggy feels Steve’s tears fall onto her hair, well...Steve’s a gentleman and doesn’t mention the tears soaking the front of his shirt.

* * *

They dance at least once a month now, swaying around Peggy’s room to 40’s music. Sometimes, Steve will sing along, soft and uncertain, and Peggy wants to hold him tight and never let go.

There are times when Peggy feels as though she can’t move, as though the weight of the world is crashing down on her. On those days, Steve holds her close, supporting her weight, and she can feel his grief tearing through him. It leaves her feeling hollow inside, knowing that one day she’ll be gone and Steve will be left by himself. Again.

He’s a man outside of his time, and for all that Steve’s adjusting well to the 21st century, Peggy knows him, knows how bad he is at building a support system. So they mourn for each other silently, and let the 40’s swing music play in the background.

* * *

The room is going to be empty, Steve knows this, but he still knocks on the door. One of Peggy’s many grandchildren opens the door and her eyes, already red and swollen, widen at the site of Steve standing on the porch in full dress uniform.

“I’m sorry to intrude,” Steve manages to say. He twists the bouquet awkwardly between his hands. “I just...I’d just like to…”

She smiles wanly up at him and Steve has to choke down a sob at how much like Peggy she looks. “Come in, Captain Rogers,” she says, pushing the door open. “Most of us are in the kitchen, but I’m sure they won’t mind if you visited Grandma.” Her voice cracks a little at the end, but Steve just doesn’t have it in him to comfort her, not right now.

“Thank you,” he rasps. He clears his throat and tries again. “Thank you. I won’t be long.” He nods at the girl and strides down the hallway, needing to get away from those familiar brown eyes. 

When he reaches Peggy’s room he’s relieved to see nobody else in it. The room is quiet, the air still, and the empty bed threatens to tear Steve’s heart out of his chest. He lays the flowers on the bedspread and bows over it.

“Hey, Peggy,” he whispers. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you. I should have been. If I had known…” he trails off, swallowing hard. “I know what you would say, I used to hear your advice all the time when I was on missions. Guess I never told you that.” Steve takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’d tell me to stop blaming myself, to think of the people I’ve saved but Peggy,” Steve drops to his knees, his forehead pressed against the cold bed. “You’re the only who mattered, you and Bucky. And now you’re both gone and it’s not fair.”

Steve’s quiet for a bit, his uneven breathing the only sound in the room. Eventually, he pulls his phone from his pocket. “What do you say, one more song, one last dance?” There’s no answer, of course there isn’t, and as the music starts Steve collapses in on himself, his shoulder twitching with muffled sobs. The song ends and it’s silent for a few moments before the next one starts. It’s barely past the first verse before Steve’s weeping, his whole body shaking with the force of his grief.

He can hear the door open and the sound of heels clicking against hardwood floor but he ignores it until Natasha crouches next to him. Her arms slide around his shoulders to hold him tightly. She doesn’t say anything, just rests her head against him, and Steve is grateful. He can’t take empty platitudes, not now.

He buries his face deeper into the mattress, his arms wrapped around himself as though he’s trying to hold himself together. Steve suddenly realizes that he’s glad Natasha is with him, not Tony or Bruce. Natasha understands, in a way that they do not, the pain of losing someone you’d only just met again after being so long apart.

They stay there until the playlist on Steve’s phone has repeated itself twice and Steve is leaning wearily against Natasha. She places a gentle hand on his head and then pulls him to his feet. “Come on,” she says softly, and leads him back to the land of the living.

**Author's Note:**

> *hands out tissues* 
> 
> These are the songs Steve listened to at the end. The last song might have been what made me tear up the most.  
> Doris Day - A Sentimental Journey  
> Perry Como - Till the End of Time
> 
> As a reminder, you can find me on Tumblr at roguewolfprints.


End file.
